Baby's first step: First corporate contract signed

Ok, for those of you who grew up in the 80s, you should get the reference....

I'm riding on a high right now -- just inked our first corporate deal!  It sounds more glamorous than it is.  There's no long-term relationship going or recurring ongoing services, but for a new company that's trying to get credibility, this will be big and will be a great reference case if we do a good job.  We're doing testing and advisory consulting to a big multinational company here in Shanghai as they renovate two floors.  We'll be testing the before and after and helping project manage the vendors through auditing the air quality (and  therefore the work that they do and the materials selected).  The value of the contract is small -- around $6k, but it's quite a step up from residential projects and I'd like to see more of them.

Lately, I've also been looking at two new segments.  The first is the upstream architecture/design/interior renovation space.  I was introduced to a boutique design firm that built the first LEED Gold certified retail store in China and also did the Urbn Hotel in Shanghai.  We hit it off and the owner/partner thought that we could have a pretty strong offering if he added my knowledge of indoor air quality to his green building.  We could help each other and create a stronger  total package for clients.  So, we have started on several projects and last week, he brought up the idea of me formally starting up a company that merged these two concepts:  building fit-out/interior design and indoor environmental testing and consulting.  He would offer up the part of his company that was dedicated to interior design and I would do the air testing/consulting part.  Since he's busy expanding the architecture piece and doing other things, he asked if I would consider heading it up as its own company -- when I explained that I wanted independence, he said he'd be amenable to me keeping it under my company's brand-name if that's what I wanted.  Little premature to think this is a done deal, but it certainly is an unexpected direction this early in the game but also an interesting idea to scale up and add some revenue pretty fast.  It would be a little scary and really turn this whole venture into much more of a managerial role (instead of the satisfying solo expert that it's been).

Also, I am going to start expanding into the Japanese market.  To date, the vast majority of my clients have actually been American or Brits.  But there are 200,000 Japanese in Shanghai and only 30,000 Americans.  The Japanese are almost always here on contract, are very health-oriented and used to high levels of hygiene and environmental health, and expect a high service level.  These are all well-suited to my business model.  The key will be to get someone who is Japanese and can help me localize my materials and offerings and then be the Japanese face of my business.  I think I may have found someone who can at least start part-time and then later, I can look for someone who is able to do this full-time if it is promising.

Hope you're all having a great week  -- Shanghai is finally warming up and the sun on your face when you go outside really does pick you up.  Looking forward to Sarah's brother Tris and my mom coming to visit in two weeks.

Thought I'd share two cool little pieces of news I got about military equipment soldiers are starting to get on the frontlines.... The new helmets that are lighter and 70% stronger are a huge benefit. I wore the old ones two generations prior in Ranger School and remember them being so heavy that I had problems keeping my head up near the end. Love the quote, "We're going to have to get more powerful test guns to see how strong they really are"!

New Helmet Blocks Rifle Shots

February 04, 2011

Military.com|by Christian Lowe

The Army and Marine Corps may soon field a lighter combat helmet with nearly double the bullet and blast protection of the current Advanced Combat Helmet.

Army officials said that recent tests of the so-called "Enhanced Combat Helmet" showed the helmets were so strong that engineers didn't have equipment powerful enough to penetrate them with simulated IED fragments.

"The test lab we sent it to couldn't calculate an [average ballistic rating] because … the test guns they had couldn't shoot fragments fast enough to penetrate the helmet," said the Army's top protective equipment buyer, Col. Bill Cole. "We don't know exactly what the [average strength] is, but it's better than we've ever seen before."

"We're going to have to build stronger test guns to figure out how good it is," he added.

Testers hoped to get about a 40 percent increase in ballistic resistance over the ACH. But Cole said in some tests, the new ECH was 70 percent stronger than the helmets worn by Soldiers and Marines today. Additionally the new helmet weighs about four ounces less than the ACH.

"It's really a huge leap forward in terms of head protection capability," Cole added. "The data that we were getting from prototypes is even better than we'd hoped."

Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va. runs the ECH program for both services. Officials with the command were unable to comment on this story by post time.

In 2007, the Army and Marine Corps began looking into how to make current helmets -- the Army's ACH and Corps' Lightweight Helmet -- stronger without increasing weight. Both could withstand a direct hit from a 9mm pistol round and some bomb fragments, but senior officials in both services wanted improved protection against rifle shots.

At the time, military helmets were generally made from layers of Kevlar or Twaron material -- both of which get heavy when the layers pile up. In recent years armor makers have developed technology to shape ultra-strong materials akin to plastic sheets that are lighter than Kevlar and have similar ballistic resistance.

After a first round of test failures in 2009, the Army has finally found a design made by Ceradyne, Inc. that works -- so well, officials say, that some types of 7.62 rifle rounds can be fired point-blank at the helmet without going through.

The service plans to purchase 200,000 ECHs beginning in the fall of 2011, with Soldiers in Afghanistan or deploying there getting the rifle-stopping helmet first. Officials say the new helmet costs about $600 each, double the price of the current ACH.

"We're very excited about this and we're going to try to take this revolutionary capability in head protection to the field as quickly as we can," Cole said. "This is like stepping up from an up-armored Humvee to an MRAP in the head protection arena."

© Copyright 2011 Military.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

‘Punisher’ Gives Enemy No Place to Hide

February 03, 2011

Military.com|by Christian Lowe

A new Army weapon designed to target the enemy hiding behind barriers is being affectionately called "The Punisher" by Soldiers fighting in Afghanistan.

And by all accounts, the futuristic XM-25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System has been quite a rude surprise for the bad guys.

"I don't know what we're eventually going to call this product, but it seems to be game changing," said the commander of the Army's Program Executive Office Soldier, Brig. Gen. Peter Fuller, during a Feb. 2 briefing with reporters at the Pentagon. "You no longer can shoot at American forces and hide behind something. We're going to reach out and touch you."

After years of XM-25 development, last fall the 101st Airborne submitted an urgent request to field the weapon for troops on patrol in Afghanistan. In response the Army took the five weapons it had been testing at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., added 1,000 hand-made explosive rounds and shipped them to the war zone in October of 2010.

On arrival the XM-25 gave infantry squads the capability to precisely target bad guys hiding behind walls, in irrigation ditches, or among rocky escarpments. The Heckler & Koch-made XM-25 pairs a barrel-mounted targeting computer and a 25mm programmable air-bursting round that's fed precise range information just before being fired. A Soldier can simply push a button to range an enemy firing position, dial in one more meter, and the round will explode precisely where the bad guy is sitting.

"I had one lieutenant tell me that normally these engagements take us 15 or 20 minutes to get through, [but it's] several minutes when the XM-25 is involved. It's that quick," said the Army's top weapons buyer, Col. Doug Tamilio. "One major told me every time the XM-25 was involved in engaging enemy positions, firing stopped immediately."

So far the still-experimental XM-25 has stood up to the harsh combat environment of Afghanistan with "no maintenance issues," Tamilio said.

"To me that means we've got the ruggedness part of it right," he said.

Tamilio admitted that they need to make some tweaks to the weapon, including finding a new power source for the targeting computer that currently uses rechargeable batteries.

"We are learning some features that we do have to enhance," he added.

The five hand-made weapons have been field tested by two Army units so far and a third unit will get "The Punisher" next if the Army can find the money to buy more ammo, officials added, declining to be specific about which units will get the weapon.

"The kids are naming it ‘the punisher' because … a person can't hide anymore," PEO Soldier Fuller added. "Now I can go punish them for trying to engage me."

Officials say Soldiers aren't complaining about the nearly 13 pound weight of the XM-25 since it's been so effective. Gunners wielding "The Punisher" often opt for an M4 or a pistol for personal defense, but some carry no other weapon at all.

The Army wants to buy 36 more XM-25s -- which run about $35,000 each -- but the buy isn't fully funded. And the air bursting ammunition costs about $1,000 per round, but Tamilio claims that full rate production will drop the price to $35 per round.

Even in a tight fiscal environment with many high-dollar programs competing for scarce resources, many top Army officials say "The Punisher" is worth the investment.

"We're giving Soldiers a capability down range that's making a difference in terms of lethality," Tamilio said. "There are many times that weapon has disrupted attacks."

© Copyright 2011 Military.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Home Sweet Home

After 3 days of basically living out of airports looking for flights, Sarah and I made it back home.  I thought that this poster was pure irony.

Few lessons learned on dealing with a situation like this in the future that I thought I'd pass on:

• Always monitor flight status -- Don't assume the carrier will notify you or rebook.  We never were, even after repeatedly giving our contact info.  They didn't protect us either, by putting us on another flight until we pushed the issue.
• Have a contingency plan for alternate routing in case flights get cancelled.  Know the next flight going, alternate connections, seating availability
• Often, it's really hard to get through on the phone, so use travel agent or hotel staff to help you get through.  EgyptAir staff often just ignore the phone.  Usually, the most effective way to get something done is to go directly to the airport or airline company sales office.
• First try to rebook through United or whoever booked the original ticket.  If they did this, the local company often cannot make changes.  The good thing about working with the local company directly is that they are not bound to award travel only, but may put you in a regular seat if they feel like it.
• Be polite but persistent and talk with different people and departments.  Don't give too much info and clearly state what you want – usually a rebooking, upgrade, compensation, or hotel accommodations. Often, we have been told no on the phone, then a different story at the airport or sales office.  Or, a counter agent will deny us seats, but a conversation escalated to the supervisor gets us there.  Document everyone's name and last name (and ideally a phone number) – don't be shy because if someone tells you something and you don't have their info documented, it's useless.  If possible, if someone promises that someone else will do something, rebook you, set you up with hotel, etc, have that person call over to their counterpart where you're going to make sure someone on the opposite end knows.  
• If this doesn't work, tell them you would like to formally lodge a complaint.  Do this in writing, make a copy or take a photo, tell them you will follow this up with Star Alliance (or whatever mother network), and add their own name and why this was unsatisfactory.  Ask for a receipt or other formal acknowledgement.  Pushing it to this will often be enough.  A different person came out, all smiles, and said that they would put us up (despite everyone earlier telling us this could not happen) with full board.  He asked if this was satisfactory and if it would still be necessary to file the complaint.

We're safe in Egypt

Thanks for the emails and SMSs of concern.  We've been on the open sea for most of the past week and since the Egyptian government cut internet and SMS service early on in the unrest, we weren't able to get word out.

Our weeklong liveaboard dive trip was interrupted as governments started pulling their citizens out of the country.  We had Polish, Dutch, and Greek divers onboard that had to leave early.  We decided that the safest place was on the open water, so decided to stay put and then take our chances.  Turned out to be a good idea, as the local port that we're in now, Hurghada, is actually quiet.  Unfortunately, we had planned to spend 4 days in Cairo, seeing the Giza Pyramids, the Sphinx, etc, but we just happened to pick the first time since 1953 that there's been civil unrest.

If you've been watching the news (we're only just catching up ourselves), you may know that Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, who has held power for over 50 years, has agreed to step down in September.  Against him is a large group of the people who believe that the government is no longer for the people and want him ousted and a fresh change.  So far, the demonstrations have been peaceful and non-violent.  Mubarak, after mobilizing the Army, installed martial law and curfews as well as cutting internet and SMS.  Most countries, including the US, sided with the protesters and are urging Mubarak to let go.  

Depending on who you talk to, it was either a way for him to save face (instead of getting forced out right away) or a ploy by which he managed to stay in power.  Regardless, order has been restored, international flights are back on time, and the internet is back up.  There were up to a million people demonstrating on the streets (even in Hurghada) and it was by and large peaceful.  Tonight, when Sarah and I walked around Hurghada, we saw signs that there was still some concern – we saw military APCs, lots of police and security on corners, and groups of people holding banners and dancing through the street.  The most striking thing was that everyone we asked seemed to be pro-Mubarak and the atmosphere in town seemed to be pretty celebratory, although by many accounts, Mubarak had lost and the protesters had won concessions.  According to one shopkeeper we spoke with, in Hurghada, the government worked with the people and they gained from working through the government and with tourism, whereas in Cairo and some of the larger cities, there was a big gap between the haves and have-nots, and a perception (deserved or otherwise) that the government was corrupt and not helping the people.

Cairo still seems to be a hotspot -- apparently pro-Mubarak forces are now shooting, throwing rocks and bombs, and otherwise inciting direct violence.  Hopefully, the anti-Mubarak side can turn the other cheek and allow the media to report what's going on and pressure the government to let the Army intervene and restore order.

We'll be spending two days in Hurghada where it's peaceful and then transit through Cairo to Instanbul for a night before returning to Shanghai.